Madhya Pradesh farmers face severe losses from tomato prices

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh are struggling as the wholesale price of tomatoes has dropped to ₹ 2 per kg. This price collapse comes after a large harvest of the new crop flooded the markets. Farmers’ groups are asking the state government to take immediate action to help them. One farmer, Dheeraj Raikwar, traveled about 130 km from Khandwa district to sell his tomatoes. He expressed concern that with such low prices, he cannot even cover the cost of harvesting. Some farmers are reportedly discarding their unsold tomatoes. Dinesh Muvel, a farmer from Dhar district, took a loan of ₹ 2 lakh to grow tomatoes on two acres. He is now facing significant financial losses due to the price drop. Ram Swaroop Mantri, a leader of a farmers' organization, has urged the government to buy tomatoes at fair prices to avoid further losses. Bablu Jadhav, president of the Bharatiya Kisan-Mazdoor Sena, highlighted the lack of cold storage and processing options in remote areas. This hampers farmers’ ability to sell their crops at better prices, forcing them to sell at massive losses.